The world changes

By Jacob Fry

(Mom note: Soliciting help from my 17 year old son to find a topic to write about, I discovered he had his own well-considered opinion.  He said, “I wish I could write an article,” to which I responded, “The computer is yours.”)

The world changes. People change, society changes, the line between wrong and right changes, people's values change. In today's society, people dwell on what they don't have, rather than what they do. People gripe about everything that is beyond their reach, rather than fixing the little world around them. I am a teenager living in this society, and I see it every day. I see it at work. Being that I work in a restaurant every day, I see and hear people talk. People gripe about global warming, politics, the hardships of life. Little do I see people talk about what they actually have in a positive manner. Everything's so negative. Where is the appreciation? Where is the positive force that used to exist in this country?

Every day I drive my mother's piece of junk to work, in order to make some extra money and to save up for my own car. When I say piece of junk, I really mean a piece of junk. At five miles per hour, it sounds like a jet engine taking off. In all reality, I could gripe about that car for days, but that car is my little ticket to freedom, and that is good enough for me. People don't appreciate their little "freedoms" anymore. Instead they complain and raise sand about what they can't change, about the things that they can't have. Society has indeed changed.

Fifty years ago, things were a lot different. People were a lot happier, a lot more focused, and thanked God for every day they enjoyed. Now, people only want more. If a man has a nice car, it isn't good enough, because there are even nicer cars out there. A prime example of this behavior is all around us. Take a trip to a trailer park and what do you see? Mainly trailers of course, but you will see a few nice cars in there. What sense does that make? A nice car parked next to some trailer that costs even less than the car? The point is people want to have the best of the best in order to show the rest of the world, “hey, I got a nice car. I got it made,” even though in reality their home life suffers because of the cost of maintaining a superficial life. If society as a whole wouldn't value such trifles so highly, a person wouldn't be pressured to show the rest of the world how well off they are. In situations like this, unhappiness is born and people are suffering to maintain what society pressures them to maintain. People's values have indeed changed.

Today people strive to be "normal". What is normal? Normal is what society says normal is. Society paints this perfect portrait of the normal teenager, or the normal mother; happy and full of life. Teenagers these days are painted to be trouble makers. Movies depict teenagers as partiers and druggies, and often associate teenage girls as being complete sluts. By depicting these teenagers as such, society pushes teenagers to become like these movie idols. In the past fifty years, girls have gone from being proper to being completely reckless. Many high school girls and college girls party like there's no tomorrow, and many of them sleep with more than at least 3 guys outside of a relationship before they graduate high school. But this is o.k. in the eyes of society, because society is what made them this way. I'm not saying having fun is evil and sinful, but there is a line that is crossed that distinguishes fun from carelessness. Society has recently destroyed that line, and there's no turning back. Girls are getting pregnant at earlier ages, which generally ruins the life of the girl, and most of the time, the life of the baby, because the teenager is not prepared to take on the responsibility of a child. As I walk through my school I might pass 4 to 5 girls in a given day that are pregnant, and at least one of them I knew in middle school. But this is acceptable because society says it is so. The line between right and wrong has indeed changed. Actually, it is almost gone.

What has caused this dramatic change in our society? Society itself has. In the past fifty years, society has gone from optimistic, to extremely pessimistic. People have changed their conception of everything so much that society has slowly crumbled. Order has been lost and trust went with it. With trust gone, people can't cooperate as a community anymore. Times are dull and with the economic crisis amongst us, things may only get worse. Barack Obama promised change, but he can't change everything by himself. He doesn't have the power. What we as a society must do is change ourselves. I may rant and rave about the problems of society, but it doesn't change a thing. I can't fix the world, but I can fix my little world around me. If everyone changed themselves, then all of society would change. It's simple, do your part, live with goodness in your heart, and sooner or later, things will change. But we need that first step towards a better society. Take it together and society as a whole will change quickly, and this time in the right direction.

When the Tao is lost, there is goodness.

When goodness is lost, there is morality.

When morality is lost, there is ritual.

Ritual is the husk of true faith,

the beginning of chaos.

- Portion of Tao 38

           

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.

- Philippians 4:8   

Every day I drive my mother's piece of junk to work, in order to make some extra money and to save up for my own car. When I say piece of junk, I really mean a piece of junk. At five miles per hour, it sounds like a jet engine taking off. In all reality, I could gripe about that car for days, but that car is my little ticket to freedom, and that is good enough for me. People don't appreciate their little "freedoms" anymore. Instead they complain and raise sand about what they can't change, about the things that they can't have. Society has indeed changed.

Fifty years ago, things were a lot different. People were a lot happier, a lot more focused, and thanked God for every day they enjoyed. Now, people only want more. If a man has a nice car, it isn't good enough, because there are even nicer cars out there. A prime example of this behavior is all around us. Take a trip to a trailer park and what do you see? Mainly trailers of course, but you will see a few nice cars in there. What sense does that make? A nice car parked next to some trailer that costs even less than the car? The point is people want to have the best of the best in order to show the rest of the world, “hey, I got a nice car. I got it made,” even though in reality their home life suffers because of the cost of maintaining a superficial life. If society as a whole wouldn't value such trifles so highly, a person wouldn't be pressured to show the rest of the world how well off they are. In situations like this, unhappiness is born and people are suffering to maintain what society pressures them to maintain. People's values have indeed changed.

Today people strive to be "normal". What is normal? Normal is what society says normal is. Society paints this perfect portrait of the normal teenager, or the normal mother; happy and full of life. Teenagers these days are painted to be trouble makers. Movies depict teenagers as partiers and druggies, and often associate teenage girls as being complete sluts. By depicting these teenagers as such, society pushes teenagers to become like these movie idols. In the past fifty years, girls have gone from being proper to being completely reckless. Many high school girls and college girls party like there's no tomorrow, and many of them sleep with more than at least 3 guys outside of a relationship before they graduate high school. But this is o.k. in the eyes of society, because society is what made them this way. I'm not saying having fun is evil and sinful, but there is a line that is crossed that distinguishes fun from carelessness. Society has recently destroyed that line, and there's no turning back. Girls are getting pregnant at earlier ages, which generally ruins the life of the girl, and most of the time, the life of the baby, because the teenager is not prepared to take on the responsibility of a child. As I walk through my school I might pass 4 to 5 girls in a given day that are pregnant, and at least one of them I knew in middle school. But this is acceptable because society says it is so. The line between right and wrong has indeed changed. Actually, it is almost gone.

What has caused this dramatic change in our society? Society itself has. In the past fifty years, society has gone from optimistic, to extremely pessimistic. People have changed their conception of everything so much that society has slowly crumbled. Order has been lost and trust went with it. With trust gone, people can't cooperate as a community anymore. Times are dull and with the economic crisis amongst us, things may only get worse. Barack Obama promised change, but he can't change everything by himself. He doesn't have the power. What we as a society must do is change ourselves. I may rant and rave about the problems of society, but it doesn't change a thing. I can't fix the world, but I can fix my little world around me. If everyone changed themselves, then all of society would change. It's simple, do your part, live with goodness in your heart, and sooner or later, things will change. But we need that first step towards a better society. Take it together and society as a whole will change quickly, and this time in the right direction.

When the Tao is lost, there is goodness.

When goodness is lost, there is morality.

When morality is lost, there is ritual.

Ritual is the husk of true faith,

the beginning of chaos.

- Portion of Tao 38

           

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.

- Philippians 4:8